taking control

Chapter 14: Yuletide Fun

A/N: Thank you to everyone who's been kind enough to leave me a review. I'm sorry that I can't respond to all of you; doing so would just eat up too much of my time. But I really do appreciate your comments and love to hear what you think.

I also want to thank my wonderful beta Ruby. The help and support she gives me is beyond measure. And my thanks also go out to Christine for proof-reading the chapter.

Chapter 14: Yuletide Fun

The last couple weeks of term flew by relatively quickly. Before he knew it, Harry realized that there was only one week left in the term and less than two weeks before Christmas. He still had the majority of his Christmas shopping to do, so that Saturday Harry made his trip into Diagon Alley.

He left shortly after breakfast wanting to give himself as much time as possible. He had a lot to accomplish in that one trip, and he wanted to make sure he had enough time for everything. Walking the streets in disguise, Harry entered practically every store on the alley. If not for his magical trunk, he would have been overburdened with his purchases in no time. All morning long he moved from shop to shop, talking to store clerks, looking at items, buying this, asking about that...it was exhausting. As it began to approach midday, Harry decided he needed a break from all of it. He wracked his brain for ideas of what he could do to get away for a bit when it hit him.

He went through the Leaky Cauldron and out the exit into Muggle London. There was a payphone not far down the road, and Harry swiftly made his way over to it. He cast some privacy charms around himself as he took out his trunk and dug out a small card that he had not seen since the summer. He dialed the number on it. The phone rang several times before it went to a message. Not home.

His shoulders slumped slightly, but he was not deterred. Knowing only one place to look for her, he set off for the department store where he had first met Jessica over the summer. Lady luck was with him that day, for as soon as he walked in he spied Jessica ringing up a customer. He waited until she was finished before approaching.

"Pardon me, but you wouldn't be able to help me pick out an entirely new wardrobe, would you?" Harry asked her.

She spun around fast. "Harry!" she all but screamed with a wide smile stretching across her face. She leapt at him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He caught her around the waist and laughed at her reaction.

"It's good to see you too," he drawled.

"How long have you been in London? Will you be here for long? Why didn't you call and let me know?" she asked in rapid succession as she released him from her tight embrace.

"Let's see," Harry said ponderingly. "I just got in this morning; I won't be here but a day, and I didn't call because I didn't think I'd have the time to meet you. Obviously I was mistaken on the last bit. I found myself with a bit of extra time and in need of a welcome break, so I called you. When you didn't answer, I knew of only one place to look for you."

"So you came all the way over here just on the off chance that I'd be working?" she asked. Harry nodded with a sheepish grin. "That's so sweet, Harry. It's so great to see you again."

"Likewise," Harry returned. "I do actually have a bit of clothes shopping to do, and I'm also in need of a nice lunch. Think you could help me out?"

"The clothes, definitely," she said with a smile. "And I get an hour break for lunch, but that doesn't start for another hour yet."

"Well let's get started on the shopping, and if need be, I can meet you back here when you get off. That is, of course, if you'd like to get lunch," Harry added.